Harper and Midwest Kind tours, gigs and happenings. Join us on our musical journey around this amazing planet of ours!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Harper and Midwest Kind June Blog, 2014

Happy July 4 everyone,

Just back from amazing Utah. Such breath taking scenery and Colorado's Rocky Mountains weren't too shabby either!!!! Now we are heading to Canada's Ottawa Bluesfest !!!! We have an amazing festival season going right through to the end of October, which will include a short tour to Australia. The first festival of the season was the fabulous Camp Jam in the Pines in Buena, New Jersey. This was the second time we performed at this festival and we were certainly not disappointed. Very cool folks and great vibe. Our drummer Greg Sauceda and guitarist Mike Howe picked up an extra gig with Paul Ceber and the Tomorrow Sound as some of their guys had their fights cancelled in Wisconsin and couldn't make the show. You never know what can happen on the road!! Amazingly the gig went very smoothly and most were none the wiser !! The following week we had the pleasure of performing at the grand opening of The Celtic Ray in Lexington, Michigan. We were very shocked to see a lot of the staff from the sister club- Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda, Florida in Lexington. We performed a double bill with the very talented duo - Brigid's Cross in the adjoining Theatre- The Lexington Theatre!! The new pub is absolutely stunning. I think Kevin Doyle and The Chief will have a huge success in this new pub!.

Early June saw my band "Midwest Kind" and I performing at a few Michigan festivals- Blues in the District in Kalamazoo, Pumpstock in East Lansing and the Nor East'r Festival in Mio. Its always nice to play festivals in your home state. We had great shows at all and got to see many old and new friends. I did a harp workshop for the kids at Pumpstock and also a harp and didgeridoo workshop at the Nor East'r Festival.. A huge thank you for the great hospitality and good times! Bobbi and I had a few days up in Traverse City, Michigan for three Australian Didge-ucation presentations. We took our Kayak along with us plus some bikes in the hopes of doing some Kayaking and bike riding in between shows. Unfortunately the weather was not too cooperative- so the Kayak stayed on the roof of the van. We did get to ride our bikes though. We also had the pleasure of working with a group of blind teenagers and adults at The Braille Camp up in Lapeer, Michigan. It was such a beautiful experience and so very fascinating to observe how people can see through their hands and ears. We played some didgeridoo and even got a three part harmonica blues jam going!